The massive traffic grid-lock along the Ikorodu-Mile12-Ketu axis of Ikorodu road has generated intense furore as uncompromising Primero Busmen, LAMATA workers and passengers engaged in various altercations and physical exchanges over right of passage on the BRT lane, around Ajegunle, Ikorodu this morning.
As a result of an on-going state government approved road maintenance project in the area, it is not uncommon to encounter long queues of cars stranded like straffed fishes as a result of the heat and built of frustration soon generated heated arguments over trivial issues.
Such was the case yesterday morning as pictures and videos of the incident recorded by our correspondent reveal.
In a video, a Busmen was recorded displaying his anger and generating quite a scene. Not quite long after, he boarded another BRT Bus and chaos broke. After what seemed like an eternity, he was dragged out by colleagues and a group of individuals trying to calm the situation down.
In another video, police officers and a traffic warden seem confused over what to do to alleviate the traffic situation which is within their jurisdiction. BRT buses and privately owned vehicles also faced each other defiantly, as if to see who budges first.
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As the journey progressed however, the real culprit of the gridlock was soon discovered to be a fallen trailer load of rice and semovita which tipped over on its side and spilled bags of the productsbit was conveying on the highway while trying to switch lanes at the Mile 12 police post end of the Mile 12 flyover bridge, probably to avoid the Motor park ‘Agberos’ that abound under the bridge and who regularly extort money from the drivers of such vehicles.
On approaching the accident zone, law enforcement officers including LASTMA, Federal Road Safety Corps, and Lagos State Volunteer Security outfits were seen trying to restore sanity to the crowded area which was littered with heaps of bags of rice and semovita, which may be looted by street urchins if given the slightest chance.
As at the time of filing this report, the trailer was yet to be removed.